What is the career in the field of product design?



At its best, writing is a fine art. A tool for storytelling over the ages. It’s fitting, then, that the making of writing instruments too is an art in itself. And it’s the product designers who make it happen.



Right from a simple toothbrush to a complex spacecraft, all products that impact our everyday life are designed by product designers. This includes designing writing instruments too – fountain pens for school or work and exclusive stylograph for special occasions to luxury designer pens and collector’s items.



Despite the ubiquity of digital communication, a pen never goes out of fashion. Designer and luxury brands, continue to be in demand. Some of the major brands have also come out with digital pens that can write on augmented paper, which digitizes handwritten work.



With design being the focus of this industry, there is a lot of demand for designers who can come up with elegant designs. Designing luxury writing instruments and products can be a perfect choice for the creative minded.



Required skills




  • Understanding of aesthetics and functionality

  • Creativity and patience

  • Strong design abilities

  • Communication skills and ability to work in teams



How it works



Product designers work in a variety of fields, including furniture, architecture and technical design. Among these, designing writing instruments falls under technical design.



Manufacturers of writing instruments approach designers and design studios to come up with new designs for their products. The designers work closely with the manufacturer’s engineers and craftsmen to design a pen that matches the company’s vision and the client’s needs.



Many luxury brands such as William Penn, Mont Blanc and Lamy have offices in India.



What to study



Many institutes across the country and overseas offer a variety of courses that teach how to design writing instruments, as part of product design. Most of the Indian institutes offer a Bachelor of Design (B.Des) and Master of Design (M.Des) in Product Design. Some of them teach product design as part of Accessory Design and Industrial Arts. In universities abroad, product design is part of Bachelor (BFA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programmes.



Where:



India




  • National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad: B.Des and M.Des in Product Design

  • Symbiosis Institute of Design, Pune: B.Des in Product Design

  • Indian School of Design and Innovation, Parsons, Mumbai: B.Des in Product Design

  • National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi: B.Des in Accessory Design

  • Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru: B.Des in Industrial Arts and Design Practices

  • MIT Institute of Design, Pune: B.Des in Product Design Abroad

  • The New School, Parsons School of Design, New York: MF.A in Industrial Design

  • Rhode Island School of Design, the U.S.: BFA and MFA in Industrial Design and Furniture Design

  • University of Applied Arts, Vienna: Masters in Industrial Design

  • University of the West of England, the U.K.: Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Product Design



 



Picture Credit : Google